Cannes Lions Will Add Effectiveness Category Next Year

To Raise Creative Bar, Only Work Awarded or Shortlisted at 2010 Festival Is Eligible

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- After organizers floated the idea of adding an effectiveness category to the International Advertising Festival this year, the debut of the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions in 2011 has been confirmed.

At this year's event, Festival Chairman Terry Savage told Ad Age that effectiveness awards were likely to be introduced and that "clients will play some sort of role," possibly on the jury. Clients made up almost 15% of around 8,000 attendees at this year's gathering as the number of marketers -- about 400 this year -- and the size of their delegations mushroomed.

To set the creative bar high, only work that was shortlisted or a Lion winner at this year's festival is eligible to compete for an effectiveness award in 2011. This year the festival shortlisted about 2,325 entries, or about 10% of the total work entered.

The festival organizers said in a statement that the new award will honor creativity "which has shown a measurable and proven impact on a client's business -- creativity that effects consumer behavior, brand equity, sales and, where identifiable, profit."

The festival said that the criteria for the new award will be results, accounting for 50% of an entry's score, along with strategy (25%) and idea (25%). The festival cautioned that the data in all entries will be checked by the external auditors at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The festival will post information on how to enter on its site on Nov. 4. As usual with new categories, the prizes will be a Grand Prix and creative effectiveness Lions, with no Gold, Silver or Bronze trophies for at least the first year.

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Laurel Wentz

Laurel Wentz is Advertising Age's Global and Multicultural Editor, responsible for international and U.S. Hispanic coverage. She is based in New York. She previously covered Europe from Ad Age's London bureau, and before that was Latin America editor, based in Sao Paulo. The best way to reach Laurel is by email at lwentz@adage.com.